This research fellow position is part of the EU cofund research project AMBER, Advanced Multiscale Biological imaging using European Research infrastructures, which aims to address scientific and sectoral gaps in biological imaging ranging from molecular, through cellular, to tissue, organ and organism levels of organisation, and is coordinated by the LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science.
AMBER is funded by the EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) COFUND scheme.
Around 10 postdocs/research fellows will be recruited in the third call 2024/2025, with each fellowship lasting 36 months.
More information about all of the announced post-doctoral/research fellow positions within the AMBER co-fund project: https://www.euraxess.se/jobs/289120

Your work may include clinical and biomedical projects. It may also include technique development work aimed at combining imaging techniques and data analysis to provide a more integrated picture of life processes in the context of health and disease. As a research fellow at the AMBER programme, you will acquire unprecedented medical, biological, and methodological capabilities, with a profound potential impact for Europe's next generation of research and researchers. When you have completed the AMBER programme, you will be extraordinarily well equipped to further your career in academia, at infrastructures, in the health and MedTech sectors, and beyond.

Project
At the ILL (Grenoble, France) the world's most powerful steady state neutron source, advanced beamlines for neutron imaging are available. Notably, NeXT is a state-of-the-art tomographic facility that offers the highest spatio-temporal resolution for neutron (and simultaneous X-ray) imaging. This unique capability makes it an exceptional setting for pioneering scientific research and interdisciplinary collaboration. At NeXT, you will be immersed in an environment that not only places you at the forefront of advanced imaging techniques but also supports the development of innovative and impactful work/research in present-day society.
Neutron and X-ray tomography provide different, and highly complementary information. Notably, in biomaterials neutron imaging allows the study of the hydrogen content and hydrogen-rich phases and their spatial distribution, for example in bones and cartilage. Additionally, neutrons have minimal impact on the biological materials making them ideal for operando studies, where multiple subsequent tomographies are acquired while the sample evolves, for example under mechanical load. Finally, the low opacity of metals to neutrons allows the study of metallic objects such as implants, virtually artifact-free. All this can be combined with simultaneous X-rays, which provide a unique insight into the structural distribution and density variations. In recent times the facility has achieved record neutron tomographic resolution (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.448932) and its potential for imaging of biomaterials at high resolution is virtually unexplored. Also, its combined use with X-rays offers a vast, untapped potential, for example in examining bone healing around metallic implants under different types of treatment (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6560/ac02d4).

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to develop research in bio-mechanical materials at the structural level on NeXT and help us push the boundaries of high- resolution imaging for biomaterials and explore the applicability of neutron imaging for the study of their micro-structure. The work will be based at the Institut Laue Langevin and specifically at the Neutron and X-ray Tomograph NeXT-Grenoble. The project will have good access to state-of-the-art medical, natural sciences and bio engineering facilities.

Principal investigator
Alessandro Tengattini, Large-Scale Structures group, ILL, Grenoble, France, is co-responsible for the neutron imaging instruments NeXT and MoTo. His research focuses on neutron and X-ray imaging for operando studies of porous media and coupled (bio-)chemo-hydro-mechanical processes at the micrometric scale.

Minimum requirements
- PhD in biomedical engineering, structural or molecular biology or biochemistry, ideally with excellent knowledge of
programming
- Applicants need to have a maximum 8 years after a doctoral degree (PhD), as required by the Commission, in accordance
with the Horizon-Europe MSCA COFUND project Grant Agreement
- At least 1 original publication in a peer-reviewed journal
- A complete application package submitted through the AMBER portal (including CV and detailed research plan)
- Strict compliance with the MSCA mobility rule that the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity
(work, studies, etc.) in the host organisation's country for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the call
deadline
- Applicants should be fluent in English, have good communication skills and should demonstrate their ability to develop and
conduct high-quality research, both in a team and independently. Additional expertise for the position: Experience in neutron
and X-ray single-crystal diffraction techniques (data collection, data reduction/structural refinement) and knowledge of
programming languages, such as Python, would be desirable.
- Other specific conditions may apply depending on exactly where and which position you are applying for. Website for
additional job details : https://www.ambercofund.eu/for-applicants or https://www.euraxess.se/jobs

Interested? Apply online in English via our career portal https://www.ill.eu/careers/ by 24.02.2025, quoting reference number 24/55 with a list of publications and the names of 3 referees, including 1 from your present work place. Please note that all applicants are subject to administrative screening (background checks). For this post, medical fitness for work under ionising radiation is required.
We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and therefore welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.